Landing and launching platform for aeroplanes.



B. G. RIBLBT. LANDING AND LAUNGHING PLATFORM r011 AEROPLANBS. APPLICATION FILED MAR."9, 1911.

1,044,914. Patented Nov. 19,1912.

7 1 all whom it mag ransom; v

citizen of the Un'ted States, and a resident of which the following is a specification.

. t1on of an aeroplane.

p the individual ropes or cables from end to a may also be effectively employed for launching an aeroplane whether from the land or launching it is desirable that t Leaner-a.

,ing and launching stage orfplatform for application to ships to facilitate the landthough the stage or V V emp loyedupon land, particularly inplaces .where it is impossible to obtain a level sur- 20 i a of suitableend supports bility serves to reduce to a minimum the Be it known that I, BYRorI C. RIBLET, a

of Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Landing and Launching Platforms for Aeroplanes,

The object of the'present lnvention is to provide a simple and eflective skeleton landaeropl'anes,

The invention is designed particularly for ing of an aeroplane upon a shipand the flight. of an aeroplane from the ship, al-

platform may alsobe facecof the proper dimensions for the opera- The. improved stage or platform is of skeleton formation and consists essentially v 4 and a series of longitudinal spaced and separated members mounted upon and extending between said end supports in a common-plane. These longitudinal members, which constitute the skeeton platform, are preferably 1 in the form f ropes or cables stretched between the end supports with free spaces separating end of the platform. In some cases it may be desirable to arrange'one end of the-platorm at a slightly higher elevation than the other end. With this construction of skelestage or platform, it will be understood main frame parts of the machine will rest upon a number of the longitudinal supportlng ropes or cables and the Wheels will ass betweenthe cables and act as lateral guides to prevent the aeroplane from sliding off toward the sides of the platform. The flexibility of the longitudinal supporting cables is an important feature of the improved landing platform since 'this fiexishock of the machine landing-upon the latform'. The same skeleton stage or plat orm' latform, for h e aeroplane be provided with grooved supporting wheels from a ship. In using the ITED STATES v I I :e'smolvc. RIIBLET, on sronnnn, WASHINGTQN.

LANDING AND- LAUNGHING PLATFORM roza ropes or cables, and in the case of app 01' pulleys which may rest upon two or more AEBOPIJAN ES.

can be guided for a suiiicient distance toin-" sure its elevation into the air.

plat orm in such manner that it can be readily erected and taken down. To this end I pre er to provide a series or considerable number of longitudinal ropes or cables of equal length provided or formed with eyes or rings at their opposite ends which are adapted to be engaged by suitable hooks mounted upon the end supports. The form of end supports may difier according to the location of the stage or platform, that is, to fit the structure to the particular requirements presented, b,ut in any case I prefer to P tentedwas, rate.

refer to construct the skeleton stage or provide at least one of the end supports with means for raising and lowerin it to facilitate erecting and'taking down t e sectional platform and properly stretching the Y the support at the the invention to ships,

be in the form of stern of the vessel may 4 suit-ably braced props having guideways for the individual ro es or cables and proper hooks secured int e deck of the vessel or to the stern rail, while the support for the opposite end of the platform may be in the,

form of a spar provided with a plurality of hooks for englaging-the'eyes or I'IIlgS'Of the ropes'or" ca mg the end supporting spar. This means le s and suitable bracing ropes aiidblock and tackle for man1p1ilat= for raisingand'lowermg thes'tage'jor platform is'also convenient in properly mounting an aeroplane upon the ropes or cables in preparation for a flight, since thecables can be lowered to the grounder deck of the ship andthe. aeroplane put in place with its grooved wheels in engagement w th two or more; of the ropes or cables and the sectional platform then elevated and stretched into operative position. The tion is, asstated above, foralfording a simple, convenient and safe skeleton and flexible latform for assisting in the landing and lhunching of aeroplanes upon ships, and I have in the ships.

In said drawing: Figure I is a detail side elevation of the rear portion of a ship having my improved sta e'or platform mounted thereon abovethe aft e'r deck with its'wheels accordingly illustrated the invention accompanying drawing as applied to principal 7 application of my invenbetween the ropes or cables. Fig. 2 is a perspective view on a larger scale showing the stage or platform in operative posltion. Fig. 3 is a detail view simllar to Fig. 1 illus- I 5 trating diagrammatically an aeroplane in position u. on the stage or platform 1n readiness for i ht with its wheels on the ropes or cables. ig. 4 is a detail view of one of the end supports or props for the strands or cables.

In the drawing, 1 represents a ship upon which the improved stage or platform may be erected. p

2, 2, etc., indicate the individual ropes or ables constituting the longitudinal members of the skeleton sta e or platform. Each of these ropes or cabIes 2 is provided with two eyes or rings 3, one of which is permanently attached at each end by splicmg or other suitable means.

5, 5, etc., indicate the individual members of a series of props or knee supports suitably mounted upon the deck adjacent to the stern rail of the ship. Each of these props 5 may be formed with a crutch or yokeshaped upperend as indicated at 6 to effectively support one of the ropes or cables 2. 10, 10, etc., indicate hooks suitably secured in the deck or to the stern rail of the ship. adjacent to the supports 5. The eyes at the rear ends of the ropes or cables 2 are designed to be engaged upon the hooks 10 and the cables then passed over the yokes6 of supports 5 as shown clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

15 is 'a heavy spar connected b ropes 16 with a ring 17 hung from one o a pair of pulley blocks 18 supported at .19 from the mast 20. The rope 21 0perating in the pulley blocks 18 in the usual manner passes down to the deck of the ship where it'maybe secured by any suitable means as indicated at 22. The spar 15 has properly se-- cured to it a series of hooks 25 over which are adapted to engage the eyes or rings 3 at the forward ends of the ropes or cables 2. I vStay ropes 30 orany other suitablebrac in means may be connected to spar 15 at 'di erent points and adjustabl attached to av support indicated at 31 whic as shown, is

attached to the smoke stack 32 ofthe ship.

It will be observed that when the ropes or cables 2 are attached at their opposite ends 'in the manner just'explained and passed 56 up over the props 5 forming the support at one end of the skeleton platform, that the s ar 15'; can be raised'from the deck of the S means of the block and tackle de- SCII' for stretching the ropes or cables be- 16o tween the two end', supports.

When the ropes or cables are 'roperly stretched, with the spar 1 5,prefera 1y at a slightly higher elevation than the end support 21 is secured to hold the series 0 cables or 266 longitudinal members of the platform in' 5 the rope i the described o erative position, that is, with each rope or ca le taut. It will be observed that the ropes or cables are mounted in parallel relation'rwith free spaces between them' and-that all of'the ropes or cables are in the same general plane 1 which is preferably slightly inclined to the horizontal as shown.

In Fig. 1 I have shown diagrammatically an aeroplane 35 inthe position it will assume after alighting upon the longitudinal members or cables 2 of the skeleton plat form. It willv be observed that the 'usual supporting wheels 36 of the aeroplane project down between the supporting cables 2 and that the main frame ofthe machine rests directly upon the cables. The wheels and their supports assing betweenthe 10D: gitudinal cables wil act as guides for the aeroplane to'prevent its sliding off to either side of the skeleton platform. The fiexibility of the cables avoids the shock of the landing of the aeroplane upon the-platform In Fig.3 I have shown diagrammatically the position an aeroplane will assume upon the skeleton stageor platform when it is in position for flight from the ship. To assist the free movementof the aeroplaneoverthe cables, it is desirable to provide grooved wheels above the platform to engage'two or C .95 i

more of the cables '2. In placing an, aeroplane upon'the platform it is preferable-to lower .the end supporting spar'15 and placethe machine above the proper ropes or cables I 2 so that the wheels 36 will engage therewith, and then elevate the spar 15 to'stretch the cables 2 intotheir operative position. When the stage or platform is not muse,

it can readily be taken down and separated into its elements and stored away in a small space.

The stage or. platform composed of the end supports and flexible longitudinal mem bers or cables is superior to the large and unwieldy wooden platforms which have.

heretofore been used in recent experiments of flying aeroplanes to and from ships, in that it can be more readily at in place and removed -'and affords a sa e and effective platform for thereasons above explained.

, In the eventof app ying the skeleton platform upon the lan it Wlll be understood that an suitable end supports can be built at the, esired points with a sufiicient distance between them to provide the de-. sired lengthof platform, and the ropes or cables stretched between them in the same manner as above ex lained in: connection with the mounting o the platform upon a is ia ggreat zconvenience and in working out the details ;ofithis,;it will of course be under- :s'tood that any suitable fastening devices as; tcompr'isinga 1 series of closely arran ed may be used for fthevarious parts of the structure. If "preferred, the hooks and eyes Ema y lbe zln'terchanged by placing the hooks. :upon the :ends of the cables inpon the supports. 7 1 'VWhatlI-claim is:

11..A,:skele.ton platform .for aeroplanes and the eyes spaced :andseparated longitudinal flexi le connections extending .in the same general direction .tm-Ja common plane and flexible T supports connected with the flexible con :nections. I 21A platform :for aeroplanes comprising .suitable supports, and :a series. of closely arranged, spaced :and separated ropes .or cables gletadhabl ymounted upon and v z'streltched between said supports.

' I3. A platiomn :tor aeroplanes comprising removable supports, means for .securing said supports in position, and a series of closely arranged, spaced and separated ropes or calbles detachably mounted upon and .sstretchedlhetween said supports.

A plationmttor aeroplanes comprising rend supports, :a series of ropes, or cables,

between the and supports, and hooks, and eyesorurings :tor supporting said ropes, orv cables, inga :eommon plane'between said supports.

5. A platform for aero end supports, a series 0 ropes, or cables, between the end supports, means loosely securing the ropes or cables to the end suplanes comprising ports, and knee supports, intermediate of 'the end supports, having crutches over which the ropes or cables are passed.

6. A platform for aeroplanes comprising suitable supports, hooks mounted upon said supports, and a plurality of ropes or cables provided withrings or eyes at their .opposite ends adapted to engage saidhooks for supporting said ropes or cables in a common plane between said supports.

7. A platform for aeroplanes comprising one end of said ropes or cables, a s ar con-. nected with the opposite ends of sa1d ropes or cables, and a block and tackle mounted above and connected with said spar" for adjustably supportin it. f'

8. The combina on with a sh1p,' of an aeroplane platform comprising suitable supports mounted upon the ship, and a series a plurality of ropes or cables, a support at s of closely arranged-ropes or cables stretched 9 between said supports and maintained thereby in a common plane and in spaced and separated relation above the deck of the 

